Robert Burns - Quincy, MA
Posted by: 
silverquill
N 42° 14.918 W 071° 00.259
19T E 334651 N 4679327
In historic Quincy, MA, known as the City of Presidents, stands a small, well goomed green space dedicated to the Scottish Poet, Robert Burns, with this statue as the center piece.
Waymark Code: WM1E47
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 04/17/2007
Views: 85
Text on the memorial:
"Whatever mitigates the woes or
increases the happiness of others
this is my criterion of goodness.
Whatever injures society at large
or any individual in it
this is my measure of iniquity."
Burns
Robert Burns achieved immortality through his almost single-handed efforts to reinvigorate the Scottish vernacular through his wonderful poetry and his rescue of hundreds of the folk songs of Scotland.
Robert Burns' poetry revolves around country and town life, the life he knew. He wrote satires about the "high and mighty", particularly the self-righteous and the tyranny of the kirk (Address to the Unco Guid). He composed beautiful love poems (Jean), some tender, some sassy, about the many women he loved. He wrote with affection, respect and often high humor (Tam o' Shanter) about country folk and their lives. He had a heart for the wee-est of creatures (To a Mouse, To a Louse) - and could compose at the drop of a hat.
Chiefly, his did immeasurable service to Scotland by reviving and rewriting dozens upon dozens of Scottish folk songs - taking the old tunes as he had learnt them, drawing upon memory for a glimpse of what they'd been about, taking perhaps a phrase or stanza, and then rewriting the songs with his own lyrics - an incredible achievement which revitalized Scottish culture and pride (at a time when it was much needed and to this very day).